Summer solstice was technically two weeks ago. But members of the Silverdale Noon Rotary Club are calling this week the official start of summer as they kick off their annual Great Kitsap Duck Race duck sales.

"It's summertime in Silverdale," said president Steve Slaton. "Whaling Days and the duck race have become known as summertime in Silverdale. The community looks forward to this every year."

Thursday night, the Rotary Club announced the start of its official rubber duck sales at the Silverdale Beach Hotel by honoring sponsors and generating enthusiasm about selling the 27,000 yellow ducks around town.

Proceeds from this year's sales will benefit Hospice of Kitsap County, said Steve Burton, the club's public relations officer. The group's goal is to raise $100,000 to donate over five years to the organization for help in building its new inpatient facility.

Last year, the Rotary raised roughly $82,000 by selling 24,000 ducks, so the pressure is on this year to top that.

The Hospice's 10,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open by the end of 2007 along Lebo Boulevard in East Bremerton near Harrison Medical Center. To build the facility, the non-profit organization launched a capital campaign to raise $1 million. The Rotary Club's pledge of a $100,000 duck-race donation is the largest the organization has received so far.

"We look for worthwhile, charitable organizations for which a Duck Buck contribution will make a big difference," Burton said. "What we look for is where we can make the most difference."

Each year, 40 to 50 local organizations apply to receive Duck Buck grants. The Duck Bucks are funded through the ticket sales of the rubber ducks.

Duck adoptions are $5 apiece. But the better deal, Rotary members say, is to purchase a "Quack Pack" of five for $20.

The more ducks you buy, the better your chance of winning the race, Rotary members say. The event, which takes place on the last day of the Whaling Days festival, will happen this year on July 29, on Dyes Inlet at Silverdale Waterfront Park.

As in previous years, the ducks will be dropped in the water off a barge. Owners of the first few ducks to cross the finish line win prizes. And one lucky duck owner will be the recipient of a 2007 Nissan Frontier King Cab pickup from Advantage Nissan.

Unlike in previous years, the winner can either take the truck, or opt for a cash equivalent of $16,000.

In addition, there will eight ducks marked as the "Million Dollar Duck." If one of those ducks crosses the finish line first, its owner will receive $1 million.

"We're really asking the community to help," Burton said. "The $100,000 commitment to the Hospice is huge and we really want to be able to help them."

Join an online conversation about the run-up to the Great Kitsap Duck Race at the CK Beat blog at kitsapsun.com.

How to Buy A Duck

Ducks for July 29's Great Kitsap Duck Race, a fundraiser for Hospice of KItsap County, will be up for adoption in Silverdale at Safeway and Albertsons every weekend until the July 29 race date. They will also be on sale inside the Kitsap Mall, during BlueJackets baseball games and during Whaling Days from July 27 to 29.